small outboard advice

[LC boating]

i am heading to the coast of maine in a week, and will have a couple of dinghies available for me to use, but all with out a motor. i was wondering if anybody could recommend a cheap (i mean really cheap), small outboard. i will not be relying on this as my main engine, just thought it would be fun to have another power boat sitting around.

thanks for the help.

 

[JB]

Re: small outboard advice

Time is awfully short, but you might be able to find a JohnnyRude 3 to 6HP from the 70s or 80s. Best little outboards ever made. Not "cheap" but you get what you pay for.

 

[john from md]

Re: small outboard advice

There are no cheap small outboards that are turn key operations. Save some money and paddle this trip. When you get back you can look through the want adds and maybe find something good for next year.

Regards,

John

 

[jay_merrill]

Re: small outboard advice

If you are talking about a dingy in the 8 foot range, just put about a 30 - 40 lb thrust, 12 volt trolling motor on it. Get the type that has a transom bracket for both ease of mounting and the fact that they are less expensive than the bow mounted types. Even if you buy one new, it won't cost you much. A decent marine type, slow discharge battery will be about 80 bucks on top of that.

You won't go very fast but plenty fast enough for the boat you will be in.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: small outboard advice

you are going into salt water, if you go electric, get one built for salt water.

 

[jbjennings]

Re: small outboard advice

My personal favorites are the 10hp johnson or evinrude from the 50's and 60's. Pretty much all OMC 2-strokes from the mid-50's to when they stopped making them are good. I wouldn't get a 9.5 omc because they're hard to work on.
I prefer the 50's and 60's OMC's because the ignition systems are cheap and easy to work on/troubleshoot. As was said earlier, there are VERY few cheap outboards that don't need work so I would keep that in mind when looking for one. I wouldn't buy a mercury small outboard to use in saltwater, especially one that is pre-1976 because they have mild steel driveshafts and the saltwater will eat it up.
To me, the best place to find a small outboard from a trustworthy person that will probably tell you what's wrong with it or sell you one in good shape for a reasonable price is to place a free ad on aomci.com. I've always found the folks there to be honest and they do a good job packing them for shipping. If you get one on ebay, I'd say there's about a 60% chance it's going to arrive with something broken.
Just my opinion,
JBJ

 

[tysonnathan]

Re: small outboard advice

I have had a late 1989 8hp Mariner on my john boat for about 9 years now... It is one of the nicest motors I have had. Always fires on the first pull and runs as smooth as a sewing machine.

 

[tysonnathan]

Re: small outboard advice

I have had a late 1989 8hp Mariner on my john boat for about 9 years now... It is one of the nicest motors I have had. Always fires on the first pull and runs as smooth as a sewing machine.

Oh... and I paid $350 for it.... there are some nice ones to be found, but it generally takes some time to track em down.